Inspirational Feature By J1 Reporter Allie Morrissey

Marian is filled to the brim with inspiring men and women. The community is blessed with fabulous teachers and fabulous students. All of the current students are incredibly inspiring in more ways than one, and so are the amazing alumna. Being the forward-looking girls Marian students are, many students admire these alumna and might even go as far as to say that they have developed a small “girl crush” on them.

They have stood in our Marian girls’ shoes. They know what its like to put so much effort into Field Day and to come out with a win, they have successfully survived Mr. Baker’s AP Government class, they were involved in what seems like thousands of clubs, and they have acquired so many t-shirts they could wear a different one every day of the year. They are the girls all Marian students aspire to be. Claire Zach Ives ’07 is that girl for so many.

Claire was born and raised in Omaha and attended St. Pius/St. Leo for grade school. When it was time for Ives to select a high school, the answer was a no-brainer. “I knew I wanted to attend an all-girls high school. The opportunities for leadership and an environment that inspires confident women were essential qualities of a school where I wanted to learn and develop.”

Ives really did take advantage of all the leadership opportunities Marian had to offer. She was a class officer all four years and held the presidential position her sophomore, junior, and senior year. She played varsity soccer, was on JV and varsity basketball, was a Retreat Leader, was in NHS, and was also in Latin Club.

Ives excelled in the classroom as well. “I feel like I had the best motivators: being surrounded by talented and supportive classmates, outstanding teachers who had high expectations for their students, and personal motivation to attend college and possibly earn an academic scholarship.”

One of Ives’ favorite classes was calculus with Mrs. Mary Baker. “Claire was extremely focused and hardworking. She always asked fantastic questions in order to make relationships between subjects. Those questions made me think about the material in a different way, which was very inspiring.”

“She was absolutely brilliant in the classroom,” Mr. Tom Baker said. He was Ives’ favorite teacher due to his ability to teach complex material in creative and memorable ways. “Claire was an inspirational leader for her class which is still true with her leadership in college and medical school. She was the president of her class her junior year and she would lead by example, not by exhortation, which I believe is critical for leadership.”

Ives said she believes that Mr. Baker greatly contributed to their class’s Field Day win junior year, and she’s forever grateful for all his dedication and hard work.

Freshmen Fright, Sophomores at the Hop, First Class Juniors, and Seniorsaurus were Ives’ Field Day themes. Like so many Marian girls, winning her junior year still remains as one of the top five best days of her life and she can still sing her Demo from all four years. “I shared the duty of writing Demonstration songs each year with a fellow class officer. Best job ever.”

After growing up watching their sport teams, it was no surprise that Ives attended Creighton University, played soccer, and graduated with a major in biology. Balancing soccer and a premed schedule forced her to master time management very quickly. Ives wasn’t ready to give up Creighton’s unique community just yet, so she attended their medical school as well. During her pediatric rotation, Ives confirmed that she wanted to go into pediatrics. She loves the diversity of her patients, working with their families, and she is willing to dedicate long hours to helping save children’s lives.

“Without a doubt, Marian helped prepare me for my future and the expansive alumnae network has been positive for where I am today.” While in high school, Ives was taught valuable subjects such as math and science, but she was also taught many non-educational lessons that have helped her in college, med school, and during her residency such as: leadership, independence, the importance of respecting and including others, the values of patience and humility, and accepting challenges.

Ives is still incredibly close with many of her Marian friends. “I’m sure we’ll still be talking about Field Day, senior lunches in the Quad, t-shirts we made, our favorite teachers, and the jukebox in the cafeteria when we’re 70!”

Ives lived with Marian girls during and after college and several were in her wedding this past June. One of them was President Mary Higgins’ daughter, Julie Kennison Schaefer ‘07.

Ives and Schaefer first met in preschool then parted ways for grade school. They reconnected at Marian, but were never super close. The two both ended up attending Creighton, and it wasn’t until both Ives and Schaefer were engulfed in rigorous pre-med classes that they became close.

They lived together their senior year of college and their freshman, sophomore, and junior years of medical school. Schaefer got married the December of their third year of medical school, and Ives was her maid of honor. When Ives got married the summer after their graduation, Schaefer was one of her bridesmaids. Although Ives and Schaefer are both married, graduated from Creighton’s medical school, and no longer living together, they are still as close as ever. They’re even completing their residencies in the same hospital.

In medical school, there is a day known as Match Day. It is when each medical student discovers where they will be completing their residency. Each student goes up to the podium in front of all their classmates, teachers, families, and friends and opens an envelope. At this point, the students do not know what hospital they will be completing their residency at.

“As the president of her medical class, it was Claire’s responsibility to announce each student’s name to go up to the podium. She, of course, announced herself, walked up to the podium, opened her envelope, and announced that she would be going to Minnesota for her residency, her number one choice,” Higgins said. “Claire announced Julie’s name next. So Julie walked up to the podium and opened her envelope. Before she even said anything, Julie’s head immediately snapped to look at Claire, and in that moment we all knew that they would be headed to Minnesota together.”

Ives is currently living in Minnesota with her husband Andrew. “I chose Minnesota because the current pediatric residents were awesome and the program provided excellent resident education with the opportunity to see diverse patients. In addition, my husband is from Minnesota- it was important to have either his or my family nearby!”

Ives will forever be one of the most admired women to walk through Marian’s doors. “I hope that my journey from being a Marian girl to an aspiring pediatrician is inspiring to current Marian girls,” Ives said. She has left a long-lasting impression on the entire Marian community, and Ives will continue to inspire others for years to come.